Experiences

* Re-Powering of 14m charter power cat
* Servicing and maintenance of 60ft Don Senior Sport Fisher
* Servicing, maintenance and repairs of over one hundred commercial fishing boats for more than 30 years

Illustrative case history for a Fishing Charter Boat

Game Station is 50ft Riviera that comes to Robertson Boats for its general maintenance, modifications and survey work throughout its Safe Ship Management cycle. When it arrives at the yard it is hauled out, water blasted and prepped for antifouling.

Safe Ship Management surveys involve the inspection of the shaft, running gear, drive line, rudder and steering systems as well as the hull and bilge. The safety equipment is also inspected, along with electronic communications, life raft and life jackets. The props, shafts and rudders are pulled for inspection. This inspection involves crack testing the tapers and keyways on the ends of the shafts and rudder stock, and an inspection of the bearings including checking the wear tolerances. The hull and bilges are tapped out and inspected for any defects.

Based on the survey, if anything is not up to standard or any defects are found, a plan is put in place to systematically work through and rectify all problems. The vessel is then inspected again. Once the survey work is complete the general maintenance begins along with any other requested work.

In this illustrative case, the owner wanted new exhaust mufflers, so the originals were removed and taken into the workshop. They were altered slightly and used as a mould. The new ones were laid up in fibreglass over the altered originals. Once cured they were cut in half, removed from the moulds and the insides were gelcoated. The halves were then glued and fibreglassed back together and the exterior was gelcoated. They were then installed.

The maintenance work was being conducted while the mufflers were being made. The boat was masked off and antifoul was sprayed onto the hull using an airless spraying system then de-masked. Engineers also got into the boat to service the engines, driveline and steering systems before installing the new mufflers. The topsides, cabins and cabin tops were buffed and waxed. The boat was launched and the systems were run up, tested and all was good